PETALING JAYA: Malaysia is not fully reliant on US meteorological data as it has various sources for weather information, said the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia).
In response to questions from The Star on whether recent major staff cuts at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) would affect Malaysia’s weather prediction capabilities, MetMalaysia clarified that it would not.
“There are various sources to obtain information on weather forecasting.
“Therefore, MetMalaysia does not rely fully on US systems,” said its director-general Dr Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip.
MetMalaysia utilises information from various global models operated by meteorological centres such as the United States-based Global Forecast System and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, he explained.
“We also rely on data from the UK Met Office, China Meteorological Administration, Japan Meteorological Agency, Korea Meteorological Administration and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts,” he added.
MetMalaysia’s clarification comes amid rising concerns in Asia that potential disruptions in US weather data could undermine regional weather forecasting and disaster preparedness.
The concern follows news reports last month of major disruptions at the NOAA due to US President Donald Trump’s push to reduce the federal workforce, leading to more than 1,000 employees being dismissed or resigning.
According to the reports, data from US satellites and climate models from institutions such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and NOAA are widely used across Asia for research and operational forecasts.
Asked whether Malaysia would be able to sustain forecasting efforts without continuous input from US systems, Mohd Hisham said MetMalaysia is capable of operating with alternative international models.
“It has been running its own numerical weather prediction systems since 2005,” he noted.
Hisham added that the outputs from these models are operationally used by the Irrigation and Drainage Department through the National Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre, as well as other disaster management agencies in and outside Malaysia.
